Speculation rife over García-Margallo’s political future

With Mariano Rajoy expected to be sworn in as the prime minister of a minority PP government this weekend, speculation is rife as to who will form part of his next cabinet, including a question of importance to Gibraltar: will José Manuel García-Margallo return as Foreign Minister?

There is no clear indication at this stage, only rumour and counter rumour, but the names of a number of possible successors are being floated in the Spanish media.

The list includes Jorge Moragas, a diplomat and Sr Rajoy’s chief of staff at La Moncloa.

According to the specialist publication Diplomat in Spain, another possible candidate is Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, a former state secretary for the EU and currently Minister of Education, Culture and Sport.

The publication also mentioned Josep Piqué, a former Foreign Secretary under José María Aznar, as another potential candidate.

Neither did it rule out Sr Rajoy picking a lesser known figure from the ranks of emerging PP politicians.

And there was one last option: another four years for Sr García-Margallo.

The caretaker Foreign Minister was quoted as saying that he was not considering his immediate future, but that he had fulfilled “almost all” his “political ambitions”.